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In Burma, We Need To Find Out What We Have To Do In Order To Keep The Democratization Process On Track. Economic Reforms Have To Be Taken One By One. You See It's Not Just Speed That's Important, It's Sequencing As Well. You've Got To Get The Speed Right; You Have To Get The Sequencing Right.

-Aung San Suu Kyi

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In Burma, We Need

Aung San Suu Kyi

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In Burma, We Need To Find Out What We Have To Do In Order To Keep The Democratization Process On Track. Economic Reforms Have To Be Taken One By One. You See It's Not Just Speed That's Important, It's Sequencing As Well. You've Got To Get The Speed Right; You Have To Get The Sequencing Right.

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I Still Oppose "visit Myanmar Year," And I Would Ask Tourists To Stay Away. Burma Is Not Going To Run Away. They Should Come Back To Burma At A Time When It Is A Democratic Society Where People Are Secure - Where There Is Justice, Where There Is Rule Of Law. They'll Have A Much Better Time. And They Can Travel Around Burma With A Clear Conscience.

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If You Can Make People Understand Why Freedom Is So Important Through The Arts, That Would Be A Big Help.

It Is Not Power That Corrupts But Fear.

I've Always Said That The More Coordinated The Efforts Of The International Community Are, The Better It Will Be For Democracy In Burma.

I Think I Should Be Active Politically. Because I Look Upon Myself As A Politician. That's Not A Dirty Work You Know. Some People Think That There Are Something Wrong With Politicians. Of Course, Something Wrong With Some Politicians.

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If You Want Democracy, You Have Got To Be Prepared To Accept The Responsibilities Of Democracy. The People Have To Take Part. They Have To Understand That They Have The Power To Move Things, And They Must Really Commit Themselves To Change If They Want It.

I've Always Tried To Explain Democracy Is Not Perfect. But It Gives You A Chance To Shape Your Own Destiny.

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When You Decide To Follow A Certain Path, You Should Follow It To The End And Not Be Diverted From It For Personal Reasons.

Sometimes I Think That A Parody Of Democracy Could Be More Dangerous Than A Blatant Dictatorship, Because That Gives People An Opportunity To Avoid Doing Anything About It.

Saints, It Has Been Said, Are The Sinners Who Go On Trying. So Free Men And Women Are The Oppressed Who Go On Trying And Who In The Process Make Themselves Fit To Bear The Responsibilities And Uphold The Disciplines Which Will Maintain A Free Society.

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We Have Been Making Constant Efforts, All The Time, To Start Dialogue With The Slorc, But You Know It Takes Two. We Don't Want A Monologue. We Would Like A Substantive Political Dialogue Among The Slorc, Political Leaders Including Myself, And Leaders Of Ethnic Groups-exactly As Stipulated In The U.n. General Assembly Resolution On Burma.

In Societies Where Men Are Truly Confident Of Their Own Worth Women Are Not Merely "tolerated", They Are Valued.

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Taking Sides Cannot Bring Peace And Balance.

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I Don't Understand Why People Say That I Am Full Of Courage. I Feel Terribly Nervous.

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Guarantees That

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We Have To Choose Between Dialogue And Utter Devastation.

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Freedom And Democracy Are Dreams You Never Give Up.

A Revolution Simply Means Great Change, Significant Change, And That's How I'm Defining It - Great Change For The Better, Brought About Through Non-violent Means.

Significant Change

[t]here Is A Vast Difference In The Attitude Of A Man With A Gun In His Hand And That Of One Without A Gun In His Hand. When A Man Does Not Have A Gun In His Hand, Or A Woman For The Matter, He Or She Tries Harder To Use His Or Her Mind, Sense Of Compassion, And Intelligence To Work Out A Solution.

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One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

Young People Drift Away From Society Because, In Many Cases, They Have No Hope Or Goals. So, Hope Will Have To Be Given To The Young.

That's Not How Politics Works - Sometimes Things Move In A Rather Imperceptible Way. There Are No Fireworks, And Then Comes A Time When Change Comes Unexpectedly. Sometimes Change Comes With A Lot Of Fireworks, But Not Always.

Those Who Have To Face Persistent Political Persecution Become Highly Politicized. Our Lives Take On A Rhythm Different From Those Who, On Waking Up In The Morning, Do Not Need To Wonder Who Might Have Been Arrested During The Night And What Further Acts Of Blatant Injustice Might Be Committed Against Our People Later During The Day. Our Antennae Become Highly Sensitive To Vibrations Barely Noticed By Those Whose Everyday Existence Is Removed From Political Struggle.

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I Felt That It Was My Duty Not To Senselessly Waste My Time. And Since I Didn't Want To Waste My Time, I Tried To Accomplish As Much As Possible.

Wasting My Time

How Can You Call It A Sacrifice When You Choose To Do Something Because You Believe In It?

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Each Man Has In Him The Potential To Realize The Truth Through His Own Will And Endeavour And To Help Others To Realize It.

Fearlessness May Be A Gift, But Perhaps Most Precious Is Courage From Cultivating The Habit Of Refusing To Let Fear Dictate One's Actions.

As Long As There Is No Law In Burma, Any Individual Here Can Be Arrested At Any Time.

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When You Think Of Buddhism, You're Likely To Think Of Peace And Tranquility.

Please Use Your Freedom To Promote Ours.

I Always Say That One Has No Right To Hope Without Endeavor.

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I Do Not Like To Encourage Personalized Politics, So We Would Not Like It To Be Thought That Just Because Certain Political Personalities Were Attacked, This Means The Situation Is Very Grave. The True Gravity Of The Situation Comes From The Fact That Ordinary Members Of The Nld Are Repressed All The Time. We Don't Want A Completely Paralyzed Political Organization, While A Select Few Leaders Are Protected By International Attention.

Human Beings Want To Be Free And However Long They May Agree To Stay Locked Up, To Stay Oppressed, There Will Come A Time When They Say 'that's It.' Suddenly They Find Themselves Doing Something That They Never Would Have Thought They Would Be Doing, Simply Because Of The Human Instinct That Makes Them Turn Their Face Towards Freedom.

Natural Instinct

When We Think Of The State Of The Economy, We Are Not Thinking In Terms Of Money Flow. We Are Thinking In Terms Of The Effect On Everyday Lives Of People.

When I Was In London A Kachin Youth Criticized Me For Not Condemning The Burmese Military For Their Offensive In Kachin State. I Answered "condemnation Is Not The Solution." We Want To Build Reconciliation, Not Condemnation.

A More Significant Phase Should Mean Serious Political Dialogue.

The Quintessential Revolution Is That Of Spirit. Without This, The Forces Which Produce The Inequalities Of The Old Order Will Continue To Operate.

The Democracy Process Provides For Political And Social Change Without Violence.

We Must All Work Together If We Are All To Live Together In Unity And Harmony.

Working Together

I've Always Thought That The Best Solution For Those Who Feel Helpless Is For Them To Help Others.

Solution To A Problem

People Need Security Of The Mind. Why Do They Want Democracy? Because It Can Give Them Freedom And Security In A Balanced Way.

To Abolish Fear Correctly Is To Nurture Law And Order.

I Was Speaking To A Writer The Other Day And He Gave Me A Valuable Piece Of Advice. He Said That You May Get To Where You Want To Go Quicker Through Violence, But The Healing Process Takes Longer. Whereas If You Don't Use Violence, There Is Not Much Healing Necessary, So You Win In The Long Run.

I Don't Seem To Have Time To Breathe. Everything's Happening So Quickly, And So Much Is Happening All The Time.

I Think It's Time For The Army To Understand That Power Should Be Enshrined In The People If We Are To Be A Genuine Democracy And Not In Any Particular Institution Or Organisation.

Some Of The Most Relaxing Weekends I Have Ever Enjoyed Were Those I Spent Quietly With A Sense Of All Work To Date Completed, And An Absorbing Mystery.

Even If You Feel Fear, You Still Have To Go Ahead And Do What You Believe In.

Challenges Mean Opportunities As Well.

You May Not Think About Politics, But Politics Think About You.

When You Feel Helpless, Help Someone.

Agreeing To Disagree Is A Prerogative Only Of Those Who Live Under A Democratic System.

Lasting Solutions Are Always Difficult To Come To. But They Will Have To Persevere. I've Been Repeating Ad Nauseam That We In Burma We Are Weak With Regard To The Culture Of Negotiated Compromises, That We Have To Develop The Ability To Achieve Such Compromises.

I Look Upon Myself As A Politician. That Isn't A Dirty Word.

Democracy Acknowledges The Right To Differ As Well As The Duty To Settle Differences Peacefully. Authoritarian Governments See Criticism Of Their Actions And Doctrines As A Challenge To Combat.

I Think That Freedom Is Sometimes A State Of Mind. Sometimes, Mind You, But Not Always.

When The Nobel Committee Chose To Honor Me, The Road I Had Chosen Of My Own Free Will Became A Less Lonely Path To Follow.

I Think By Now I Have Made It Fairly Clear That I Am Not Very Happy With The Word Hope. I Don't Believe In People Just Hoping. We Work For What We Want. I Always Say That One Has No Right To Hope Without Endeavor, So We Work To Try And Bring About The Situation That Is Necessary For The Country, And We Are Confident That We Will Get To The Negotiation Table At One Time Or Another. This Is The Way All Such Situations Pan Out Even With The Most Truculent Dictator.

I Think, If You Have Enough Inner Resources, Then You Can Live In Isolation For Long Periods Of Time And Not Feel Diminished By It.

In General People Feel More Relaxed About Participating In Politics. They Aren't Frightened As They Used To Be.

The Basis Of Democratic Freedom Is Freedom Of Speech.

Freedom Of Speech

To View The Opposition As Dangerous Is To Misunderstand The Basic Concepts Of Democracy. To Oppress The Opposition Is To Assault The Very Foundation Of Democracy.

The [burmese] Government Appears To Be More Interested In Stamping Out Political Activity Than Drug Addiction. Very Few University Students On The Campus Could Get Away With Engaging In Political Activities, But They Seem To Be Able To Get Away With Taking Drugs. We Have Heard That It Is Very Easy To Obtain Drugs On The University Campuses.

University Students

There Should Be No Political Prisoners In A Democratic Country.

The Best Way To Deal With Aids Is Through Education. So We Need A Really Widespread Aids Education Program. In Fact, What We Need In Burma Is Education Of All Kinds - Political, Economic, And Medical. Aids Education Would Be Just Part Of A Whole Program For Education, Which Is So Badly Needed In Our Country.

The Nobel Peace Prize Opened Up A Door In My Heart.

Nobel Peace Prize

I Do Not Look Upon My Life As A Sacrifice At All.

What Does Burma Have To Give The United States? We Can Give You The Opportunity To Engage With People Who Are Ready And Willing To Change A Society.

I've Always Been Strongly On The Side Of Non-violence. Also, I Think That If You Use The Wrong Means, The Ends Themselves Get Distorted.

I Learned To Work On A Computer Years Before I Was Placed Under House Arrest. Fortunately I Had Two Laptops When I Was Under House Arrest - One An Apple And One A Different Operating System. I Was Very Proud Of That Because I Know How To Use Both Systems.

Leaders Of Political Parties Need To Keep In Contact With The People; That's What It's All About. If Violence Were To Erupt, I Am Fairly Confident That We Could Control Our People. Whether Or Not The Authorities Can Control Theirs Is Another Matter Altogether.

To Be Forgotten, Is To Die A Little.

It Is Not Easy For A People Conditioned By Fear Under The Iron Rule Of The Principle That Might Is Right To Free Themselves From The Enervating Miasma Of Fear. Yet Even Under The Most Crushing State Machinery Courage Rises Up Again And Again, For Fear Is Not The Natural State Of Civilized Man.

With The Right Kind Of Institutions, Starting With The Rule Of Law, Burma Could Progress Very Quickly.

I Do Not Hold To Non-violence For Moral Reasons, But For Political And Practical Reasons.

Despotic Governments Do Not Recognize The Precious Human Component Of The State, Seeing Its Citizens Only As A Faceless, Mindless -- And Helpless -- Mass To Be Manipulated At Will. It Is As Though People Were Incidental To A Nation Rather Than Its Very Life-blood.

There's A Certain Age When Your Height Stops Growing And You Cannot Change That. This Sort Of Body Growth Cannot Be Fixed. But There Are Many Things That Can Be Changed. You Might Have A Small Body Structure But There Are Opportunities To Make Yourself Very Fit And Healthy. So We'll Have To Work Hard In Many Aspects.

I've Always Said That The Most Important Thing Is Job Creation. Jobs Will Earn People Money And Build Self-confidence.

Self Confidence

There Have Been Many Claims That [u.s.] Sanctions Have Hurt Burma Economically, But I Did Not Agree With That Point Of View. If You Look At Reports By The Imf, For Example, They Make Quite Clear That The Economic Impact On Burma Has Not Been That Great. But I Think The Political Impact Has Been Very Great And That Has Helped Us In Our Struggle For Democracy.

I've Never Thought Of Myself As Being Particularly Brave - I Used To Be Frightened Of The Dark When I Was Small. And I'm Not Very Good With Dead Rats And Things Like That. But I Face What Has To Be Faced And I Hope As Best As I'm Able.

The Terms Of The 2008 Constitution [which Ensures The Military Will Continue To Be The Ultimate Authority] Could Not Benefit Burma In The Long Run. I Think This Constitution Should Be Revised.

We Must Make Democracy The Popular Creed...if We Should Fail To Do This, Our People Are Bound To Suffer... That Is What My Father Said. It Is The Reason Why I Am Participating In This Struggle.

One Should Mature Over 20 Years.

I Don't Think Of Myself As Unbreakable. Perhaps I'm Just Rather Flexible And Adaptable.

I Don't Want Burma To Be A Basket Case Forever.

More People, Especially Young People, Are Realising That If They Want Change, They've Got To Go About It Themselves – They Can't Depend On A Particular Person, Ie Me, To Do All The Work. They Are Less Easy To Fool Than They Used To Be, They Now Know What's Going On All Over The World.

There Are Those Who Argue That The Concept Of Human Rights Is Not Applicable To All Cultures. We In The National League For Democracy Believe That Human Rights Are Of Universal Relevance. But Even Those Who Do Not Believe In Human Rights Must Certainly Agree That The Rule Of Law Is Most Important. Without The Rule Of Law There Can Be No Peace.

After I Was Released, People Used To Keep Asking Me, 'what's It Like To Be Free? And It Was Very Difficult For Me To Answer. I'd Always Felt Free. As Far As My State Of Mind Was Concerned, I Didn't Feel Any Different...people Ask Me About What Sacrifices I've Made. I Always Answer: I've Made No Sacrifices, I've Made Choices.

If Suffering Were An Unavoidable Part Of Our Existence, We Should Try To Alleviate It As Far As Possible In Practical, Earthly Ways.

My Top Priority Is For People To Understand That They Have The Power To Change Things Themselves.

As The Twentieth Century Draws To A Close It Has Become Obvious That Material Yardsticks Alone Cannot Serve As An Adequate Measure Of Human Well-being. Even As Basic An Issue As Poverty Has To Be Re-examined To Take Into Account The Psychological Sense Of Deprivation That Makes People Feel Poor.

Burma Is Not Yet A Full-fledged Democracy. We Have Started Working On The Road To Full Democracy. We Have A Lot Of Things To Do In Order To Build A Democratic Structure And To Be Become A Full-fledged Democracy.

All Military Regimes Use Security As The Reason Why They Should Remain In Power. It's Nothing Original.

I Am Not Unaware Of The Saying That More Tears Have Been Shed Over Wishes Granted Than Wishes Denied.

One Wants To Be Together With One's Family. That's What Families Are About.

Art History Is Always Changing Too.

The Struggle For Democracy And Human Rights In Burma Is A Struggle For Life And Dignity. It Is A Struggle That Encompasses Our Political, Social And Economic Aspirations.

At The Moment I Would Like To Emphasize The Need For Vocational Training, For Non-formal Education In Burma To Help All Those Young People Who Have Suffered From A Bad Education. They Have To Be Trained To Earn Their Living. They Have To Have Enough Education Vocational Training To Be Able To Set Up Respectable Lives For Themselves.

I'm Rather Inclined To Liking People.

Assuming The Chairmanship Of Asean Isn't Going To Do Anything About Improving The Lives Of People.

We Do Need Great Change In Burma. We Are Trying To Build A New Society, A Society Where Basic Human Rights Are Respected, And Where Our People Enjoy All The Benefits Of Democratic Institutions.

Justice Is A Dream. But It Is A Dream That We Are Determined To Realize.

Unless There Is Free And Fair Competition, There Can't Be Healthy Economic Development. And What We Have In Burma Now Is Not An Open-market Economy That Allows Free And Fair Competition, But A Form Of Colonialism Makes A Few People Very, Very Wealthy. It's What You Would Crony Capitalism.

Sometimes I Didn't Even Have Enough Money To Eat. I Became So Weak From Malnourishment That My Hair Fell Out, And I Couldn't Get Out Of Bed.

I Worry That Even Those Who Want To Reform Are Not Quite Sure How To Go About It. There Is So Much To Be Done.

I Think Sometimes If You Are Alone, You Are Freer Because Your Time Is Your Own.

Democracy, Like Liberty, Justice And Other Social And Political Rights, Is Not "given", It Is Earned Through Courage, Resolution And Sacrifice.

I Was A Prisoner, But I Always Felt Free Because I Was Not Frightened So For Me Real Freedom Is Freedom From Fear.

The Value Systems Of Those With Access To Power And Of Those Far Removed From Such Access Cannot Be The Same. The Viewpoint Of The Privileged Is Unlike That Of The Underprivileged.

Underprivileged

Human Rights And Rule Of Law Are Inseparably Connected.

Peace, Development, And Justice Are All Connected To Each Other. We Cannot Talk About Economic Development Without Talking About Peace. How Can We Expect Economic Development In A Battlefield?

Solidarity Is A Beautiful Word Because It Means That You Reach Out To Those Who Are Different From You And Who Have To Cope With Different Circumstances Because We Recognize That We All Share The Same Human Needs And Same Values. It Is The Values That Count Most Of All. The Value Of Freedom Of Thought, The Value Of Democratic Practices, The Value Of Respect For Your Fellow Human Beings.

If You Look At The Democratic Process As A Game Of Chess, There Have To Be Many, Many Moves Before You Get To Checkmate. And Simply Because You Do Not Make Any Checkmate In Three Moves Does Not Mean It's Stalemate. There's A Vast Difference Between No Checkmate And Stalemate. This Is What The Democratic Process Is Like.

I Think There's A Need For The Participation Of The Military For The Stability Of The Transformation Period Of Burma. If The Military And The People Do Unite Together For The Sake Of Our Country, We Can Reach The Development Of Our Country In A Very Short Time.

While It Is Undeniable That Many Have Been Driven To Immorality And Crime By The Need To Survive, It Is Equally Evident That The Possession Of A Significant Surplus Of Material Goods Has Never Been A Guarantee Against Covetousness, Rapacity And The Infinite Variety Of Vice And Pain Which Spring From Such Passions. Indeed, It Could Be Argued That The Unrelenting Compulsion Of Those Who Already Have Much To Acquire Even More Has Generated Greater Injustice, Immorality And Wretchedness Than The Cumulative Effect Of The Struggles Of The Severely Underprivileged To Better Their Lot.

Fear Is Not The Natural State Of Civilized People.

Basic Human Rights

The Judiciary Must Be Strengthened And Released From Political Interference.

There Is A Time To Be Quiet And A Time To Talk.

I Only Used A Cell Phone For The First Time After I Was Released. I Had Difficulty Coping With It Because It Seemed So Small And Insubstantial.

As You Look At Me And Listen To Me, Please Remember The Often Repeated Truth That One Prisoner Of Conscience Is One Too Many.

A Lot Of The Roads, Bridges, Railways, And Such Are Built Through The Use Of Forced Labor, And That Is Causing The People Great Suffering. What We Put Into This In The Form Of Human Suffering Is Not Worth What Comes Out Of It.

Of Course I Regret Not Having Been Able To Spend Time With My Family.

It Is Part Of The Unceasing Human Endeavor To Prove That The Spirit Of Man Can Transcend The Flaws Of His Own Nature.

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